Johannes’ Åbenbaring kap. 13 Overvejelser over tekstens aktualitet1

The apocalyptic beasts in Revelation chap. 13 have been identified with a variety of historical persons. Such interpretive practicereveals a sort of hermeneutical narcissism. Before considering the contemporaryrelevance one has to consider the historical context. Chap.12 introduces the mythological explanation of God’s will to destroythe whole world as revealed in the fi rst part of the book. The Dragon(Satan) is expelled from heaven, but reigns now on earth; therefore theearth has to be destroyed and Satan to be conquered once again. Inchap. 13 two apocalyptic beasts are revealed, one from the sea and onefrom the land. They are fantastic representations of the Roman Empireand of the local supporters that worship the emperor. In this waythe text is bound to its historical context. To ponder the contemporaryrelevance of the text we need to recognize its ‘productive malaise’. I suggestfi nding this malaise in the revelation of an ongoing competitionbetween political power and religious faith, and I point to two low-keyexamples in contemporary Danish society: The decision of the DanishParliament to impose homosexual weddings on the Danish Church,and the discussion of abandoning certain church holidays for economicreasons